through your eyes
by zeldris
Summary: she takes one look at the mischievous green-eyed boy before her and wonders if maybe she would've been safer inside her tower. tangled au, bc i hate myself. meliodas/elizabeth
1. just close your eyes

**summary: she takes one look at the mischievous green-eyed boy before her and wonders if maybe she would've been safer inside her tower. tangled au, bc i hate myself. meliodas/elizabeth**

 **pairings: basically melizabeth…maybe banlaine if im up to it, kiane if i wanna roll the dice.**

 **sidenote: do you ever tell urself ur not going to do something and then you totally do it and ur like 'fuck'.**

 **this is that thing.**

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That clock – is most definitely mocking her.

The golden chime will swing back and forth, back and forth, tricking her into believing that the passage of time is happening much faster than it actually is.

Lying, deceitful clock. She'd get revenge on it one of these days…

Her toes dangle off the edge of the window and she breathes in the summer breeze. The grass below is teasing her, like the evil clock, begging her to come down and touch it, to let her hands run through it…

"It's too early for this," she speaks, and hops off the ledge to the kitchen table. Because that's all that her life was – just finding another distraction. Another meaningless task, another hour, another day…

She sweeps away the cynical thoughts with the dust on the table, into the dust pan and out the window.

How sad is it, she envies the way the dust can float away into the sun, while she stays trapped in the tower.

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"-and _that_ , my dear, _dear_ brother." Meliodas finishes, swinging the crown around his arm like a hula-hoop. "-is how you steal a priceless artifact."

"A lot of big talk from a guy who's barely five foot two," Estarossa laughs, swiping the crown off of Meliodas's arm. It's a beauty alright – thousands of years old, and gilded with the Liones family crest and opulent gems that could only be found in story books.

"Shut up, you two. We're still within the kingdom, if we get caught, we're _dead_." Zeldris hisses, peering past the stony column they were positioned behind. The guards were scrambling about, too focused on the fact that the crown was missing to notice the three thieves dipping past the houses and roofs.

"Lighten up, Zelly. _You're_ the one who said we should take this little number anyhow," Estarossa whistles, sliding the crown in the pouch he was holding. "It's not everyday you call a little family get-together."

Meliodas grins. He hasn't seen his brothers in a while – and with due reason, as well. If his memory served him, last time he saw Estarossa, he ended up with a broken arm and walletless. Zeldris was a bit more reserved, but he'd had his moments, of course, like the time he left Meliodas to the wolves – _literally_ , a pack of snarling, hungry wolves – and didn't show up again for another year and a half.

"Oh, stop! Look at this!" Estarossa suddenly declares, even though they are seconds from escaping the kingdom unscathed. "Ooh, look at how _young_ you look, Zeldris!"

Estarossa holds up, quite proudly, the wanted poster of his younger brother, a frowning Zeldris who looked to be about seven years old.

" _Give_ me that," Zeldris demands, growling at the low-quality picture and tossing it off the bridge.

"They're not very good at capturing my personality – and my hair is _not_ that wild, thank you very much." Meliodas drawls, crumpling the poster into a ball and throwing it behind him "Oh, well."

"I think I look pretty sexy," Estarossa comments, before discarding his poster in a similar way to that of his siblings. "Where too next?"

"We make a pit stop at the Boar Hat." Zeldris commands. Meliodas smiles slightly, he has always had such a controlling personality, perhaps that's why they never got along all that well. And Estarossa…well, he was just a lazy idiot. There wasn't much else to say about that.

"Oh, sounds good. Say, does that one guy still work there, oh, what's his name…Bard? Ben?" Estarossa starts.

"Ban." Meliodas answers, without realizing. He spent a lot more of his time at the Boar Hat than his brothers did, he knew almost everyone there by heart and even worked there most of the time. Not that his brothers would know that, he liked to keep to himself, plus, he didn't wholly trust them.

"…right. He makes a _mean_ duck stew, though, think he's still at it?" Estarossa narrowly avoids a black arrow that swishes past his face. "…oops. Looks like those damn holy knights caught up to us."

"This way," Zeldris leads, curving the path they were taking through the trees, a trail too difficult to tread for anyone on horseback. Meliodas jumps over a fallen tree and wonders how long it will take to lose them, they were quite an annoyance, those holy knights.

They run for a solid five minutes before the snapping of tree branches behind them falters – they are alone in the woods, finally.

"We gotta climb up this cliff face." Estarossa points out. The cliff is sharply vertical and looks almost un-scaleable. None of them brought a rope.

"It's no use trying to climb it manually," Zeldris says, "somebody give me a boost."

Estarossa lifts him up with ease. Zeldris's hands aren't nearly close enough to the top.

"Dammit Meliodas, get over here and help!" Zeldris growls. Meliodas cracks a bemused smile and nods. He climbs (ungracefully, if he may add – taking plenty of caution to step on as many of his brother's limbs as possible) up to the top and he is the first to reach the top of the cliff.

He stands up and dusts himself off, surveying the scene around him. Not bad – the view would only be better if he had his own private castle and servants, but baby steps, baby steps…

"Quit yer gawkin' and pull me up," Zeldris gruffly requests. Meliodas peers over the cliff face, his two brothers completely out of commission.

Truly, if there was any better time to do this, he would do it then. But the opportunity was practically dancing in front of his face, naked. He had to take it.

"Sorry Zelly," Meliodas says, turning around and starting on his leisurely way through the woods. "My hands are full."

The last thing his brothers see of him is the shimmering, priceless crown wrapped around his arm as he disappears into the brush.

"Damn you Meliodas – if I ever get my hands on you, I'll kill you!"

Meliodas laughs at his younger brother's anguish.

"Catch me if you can." He calls back, before he disappears completely.

.

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"Oh, _no_ …" Elizabeth laments, no matter what angle she looks at it, it's all _wrong._

"It looks fine to me," Hawk, Elizabeth's pet pig, consoles, even though the lamp looks much, much less than fine.

In her rush to clean everything up for Vivian's arrival, Elizabeth tripped and knocked over one of her caretaker's most prized possessions, a rare lamp from the Isles of Sorna. It was shattered into several different pieces, and there was only so much glue could do for the object.

"She's going to be so upset with me!" Elizabeth cries, flopping her weight onto a chair and holding back tears.

"Don't cry Elizabeth, it was an accident!" Hawk attempts to cheer her up fail.

"I-I know, but I don't want to make her angry!" Elizabeth sniffs, wiping her eyes dry. For all she knew – Vivian could appear that very moment, the best she could do was patch up the lamp and hope for the best.

"Elizabeth? Where are you?"

…Too late.

"Quick! Hide!" Elizabeth whispers to Hawk. Her mother didn't exactly shine upon the idea of pigs, frankly, she hated them.

Hawk is quick enough to dart under a chair as Vivian approaches the living room, a stern expression written across her tight features.

"Well, well…you've certainly tidied the place up since I last saw it…" She says, and Elizabeth wasn't too sure on whether or not it was a compliment. She drags her finger across the table in search of dust, and is pleased when she finds none.

"Mother-"

Vivian cut Elizabeth off sharply. "Ah-ah-ah, remember what I said about calling me that? it makes me sound…old…" Vivian's expression turns sour.

"R-right. Vivian, well…I have, I-I mean, something to ask you…" Elizabeth stammers nervously, skirting around the broken lamp so that she was standing in front of it. What she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her, right?

"Honestly Elizabeth, you'd think by now you wouldn't _stutter_ so much…" Vivian comments, glancing at her dry skin in the mirror. "Come now dear, fix me up."

Elizabeth obediently reaches forward and touches Vivian's forehead, letting her magic heal away any damage to Vivian's body. Vivian sighs lovingly (towards Elizabeth or her magic, she wasn't sure) and relaxes into a chair.

"Now, what was it you wanted?" Vivian asks, combing her light brunette bob to the side experimentally. Elizabeth eagerly grabs another chair and pulls it up close to Vivian, eager to share her wish with her caretaker.

"W-well, remember last year, when I asked if I could go outside the tower for my birthday?" Elizabeth begins on a slightly sour topic.

Vivian's face goes dark. "Yes. I do. You aren't still on that, are you? I've told you _hundreds_ of times, your magic is too valuable to be lost into the hands of mortals."

"Y-yes, of course. _But_ , now that I'm eighteen-"

"No _buts_ , Elizabeth. You belong in this tower. You are the last of your kind – you must protect the line of the druids." Vivian incessantly reminds.

"But if you go with me-"

"What did I just _say_ ," Vivian asks, dipping her pointed finger under Elizabeth's delicate chin and staring directly at her. "You will _never_ leave this tower. It's where you belong."

Elizabeth felt her heart crumble. That was her only dream – to leave the tower, to see the outside. She wanted it more than anything else in the whole world.

But Vivian said that was selfish, and maybe it was, but didn't she deserve to be selfish, just once?

"Y-yes mother. I mean Vivian." Elizabeth corrects herself miserably.

"Good girl. Now, make me a cup of tea, will you please? I'm parched."

"Yes Vivian."

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Meliodas wipes his brow, smile never failing to dissolve from his face. Yup. Estarossa and Zeldris were going to kill him.

Of course – they'd never find him. He'd be halfway to Camelot by the time they got anything through their thick skulls.

He whistles nonchalantly as he ducks through the trees, wondering to himself what exactly he'll buy with what the crown pawns off for. Millions, he could only hope.

Maybe he'd buy a bar. He always wanted one, the Boar hat was practically his already!

His smile droops a bit. Right. The Boar Hat – he'll probably never see it again.

His thoughts are rudely interrupted by the appearance of a veil. And it isn't a wedding type a veil that you may recognize, but it was one Meliodas's magically trained eyes recognize as a magic veil.

"What on earth are you hiding?" He muses, waving his hand over the concealing spell curiously. It was a fairly high-level spell, he knew for sure Merlin could cast it, but he hadn't any sort of indication as to why someone would use it in the middle of the forest.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he takes a step forward, past the veil and into a valley, thinly landscaped by trees and grass, and even a small creek. It was pretty – a good place to settle after retirement.

It seems that someone had a similar idea, because right smack in the middle of the valley was a tower, easily about thirty feet high, and quite small in room space. Perhaps someone lives there?

Of course – if someone _did_ live there, they were hiding something precious. A visibly challenging spell like cloaking magic was only used in dire situations – this tower was protecting something.

"Well, well, well…" he drawls musically, shoving the crown into his bag and cracing his knuckles. "What have we got here?"

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 **ouch.**

 **second sidenote: i don't normally write present tense, so it might be a little bit rocky at first.**

 **review to save the life of (one) writer named me who cant stop starting stuff she evidently wont finish.**


	2. here in the night

***appears* not dead**

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"I _still_ can't believe you let her boss you around like that," Hawk observes. Elizabeth has no answer for him, mostly because she is still shining up the edges of the dining room table with a soft cloth, wanting nothing but perfection.

"Well, she _is_ my mother," Elizabeth reasons lightly when she is well satisfied with her work. Hawk makes a low rumbling sound.

"I don't see the resemblance. Never have." He responds challengingly. Elizabeth purses her lips and sighs.

"She's taken care of me all these years," she adds plentifully. "I owe her that much, to do what she says."

"She owes you enough to cut you loose every once in awhile," Hawk sings, "haven't you noticed how much you've had to heal her lately? Maybe she's just using you."

Elizabeth cuts herself short, almost dropping her washcloth in surprise.

"Don't….don't say things like that, Hawk." She stammers, biting her quivering lip and shaking her head intensely.

Hawk stays silent, but only for a minute or two. Elizabeth is so heavily burdening herself with menial tasks he has to interject.

"You should go take a nap. Vivian won't be back until tomorrow night, you can worry about all of this stuff in the morning." he tells her softly. The china underneath her small hands makes a clinking sound when she sets it down on the counter.

"Maybe you're right," she answers softly. She doesn't realize - at first, at least - how Vivian's rejection has affected her emotionally. She needs rest, despite how little she likes to admit it.

"Of course I'm right. I'm the smartest person you know." He tells her playfully.

She doesn't bother telling him that he's a pig and not a human - that'd be tomorrow's problem.

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Meliodas clicks his tongue and taps the stone cold tower with his knuckles lightly, testing to make sure it wasn't another clever illusion. He meets solid rock and he is perplexed, to say the least.

It isn't often he stumbles across a mystery as obvious as this one - it was almost _too_ obvious, there was a fair possibility that the tower could be a trap.

His curiosity anchors him to the only conclusion he can sum up in the minute and a half he has investigated - there is something in this tower, and he is going to find out what.

Kicking a brick near the bottom of the wall, testing its durability. A little magic never hurt anyone, now did it?

He grins cruelly at his own joke, magic being the source of nearly every war fought in Britannia….ever.

He sizes up the tower with scrutiny. The ivy that scales the stones in an ever fruitless attempt to grasp the sun has no chance in the world of supporting his weight, he'll have to try something else. If only he had some rope…

His mind feigns at the recollection that his lack of rope had gotten him into this situation in the first place. Magic really is last-resort, he doesn't want to accidentally tell Zeldris and Estarossa exactly where he is, his magic works as a beacon of sorts.

That left only one option. Nothing a little manual labor can't fix, right?

He cracks his knuckles, double checking to make sure all of his limbs are in comfortable working condition. He isn't the world's best climber but he supposes he isn't the worst, either. He just has to keep in mind that one slip of a hand can lead to his inevitable death. Excellent.

He reaches up and loops his hand around a wreath of creeping ivy, always reaching for the sky, and never reaching its fruitful destination.

It was now or never.

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" _Elizabeth,_ wake up." Hawk prods at her shoulder uncomfortably, a sense of urgency written into his voice.

Elizabeth wearily sits up and blinks a few times, taking in the dim light of the risen moon pouring in through her crescent shaped window. Had she really been napping for that long? It couldn't have been more than early afternoon when she first turned in…

"What's wrong?" She asks him sleepily. His eyes nervously shift towards her bedroom door and back again.

"I think...I think someone's in the tower."

Elizabeth blinks once. Hawk makes no motion to retract his statement. She blinks one more time before saying something of her own.

"That's...not possible. Vivian won't be back until tomorrow night, you said it yourself-"

" _Not_ Vivian." Hawk clarifies, voice strangled and tight liek he's in the midst of swallowing an entire cabinet."I think someone broke in."

Elizabeth's mouth opens, to protest, but then she shuts it again. There was no way that could be possible. Right…? Vivian has _always_ told her that the outside world is a dangerous place, and that there is no _way_ she should ever interact with it under any circumstances. So why would she allow something from there to enter her midst?

Elizabeth doesn't normally pride herself with ration, but this time, she has the courage to smile.

"Don't be silly, Hawk." she pats him on the head gently and moves to lay her own back on her soft, homely pillow. "Get some rest."

"- _Elizabeth_ ," Hawk whines. "I _really_ think someone is here. I can...I can smell them."

Elizabeth purses her lips, but refuses to sit up. She refuses to acknowledge the idea that Vivian would allow something like that to happen.

"Sleep, Hawk. It's probably just some flowers blooming that you're smelling."

"I'm pretty sure this doesn't smell like _flowers_ -"

" _Hawk._ "

"Fine, fine…" he grumbles obediently. Hawk shifts, moving back to his pillow next to her bed where he is supposed to sleep. It is silent for the next minute, until she hears a slight thump coming from downstairs.

"...You heard that, right?" Hawk asks her, voice small and timid. She swallows.

"I...I guess there's no harm in checking to see if there's a bird stuck in the tower, right?" she offers nonchalantly, hoping to sound brave and not terrified.

"Right. Right! A bird, yes, definitely." Hawk is eager to agree. She gets off of her bed, nightie pooling near her ankles and bare feet hitting the cool floor gently.

She is careful to not make a sparing sound when she nimbly crawls down the steps, Hawk is no more generous with the sounds he makes, and is for once, silent.

When she gets to the lower level, she almost panics at the sight. It isn't much, but her meticulous vision notices enough about the same scene she witnesses every day, and _has_ witnessed for er entire life.

The potted plant that sits on the window sill is knocked to the side, so a tiny bit of dirt has dripped out of the pot and onto the cool stone window where Vivian enters and exits.

Something is definitely inside the tower. The question is what.

Or, as her deepest fears would reveal, _whom?_

Her next thought is to find something to defend herself with. Her hands anxiously reach for the cool metal of the tea tray still sitting atop the dining room table haphazardly.

She lifts it to her chest guardedly, and Hawk unfortunately notices her nervousness and follows suit. She is careful to remain silent as she investigates the kitchen, the next area of interest.

It looks perfect.

Almost too perfect.

Elizabeth is no dummy, her keen eyes spot the differences immediately. Each chair is pushed in a little too cleanly, each countertop looks a bit more spotless than it had been previous. Either she was being extremely paranoid, or someone has been covering their tracks.

She motions Hawk to stay behind her, because she knows something is up, and she's praying it's only Vivian. Perhaps she's forgotten something, or wants to apologize and tell her adult daughter that she's allowed to finally explore the outside world, to do as she pleased...yes, that would certainly be ideal.

Unfortunately for her, nothing ideal really turned out.

Because the second she inched out of the kitchen, she was met with a smooth, unfamiliar voice that would practically cause her to jump right out of her skin.

"What've we got here?"

Elizabeth falls back into the wall separating the kitchen and the dining room, tea tray clanging against the stone with a loud resounding pang.

Hawk makes an uncomfortable squealing noise and falls back next to her. So much for being intimidating.

The person is standing in front of them, only a few arms distance away, but he makes no intentions of hurting them. He only folds his arms and takes in the sight.

"Who...who are you?!" Elizabeth demands, holding out the tea tray as if it were a much more intimidating sword.

He holds his hands up, as if to plead 'not guilty'. Elizabeth and Hawk aren't so fazed.

"I'm just a traveller lookin' for a place to stay, and your tower had a certain 'cozy' look to it. You know, like a really tall, really fancy dungeon." He tells her slowly, as if trying to convey harmlessness.

"Dungeon? This is...this is my home! I think...I think you should leave." Elizabeth stammers, braveness finding no purchase.

"Of course, of course. I had no intentions of intruding." He says to them both. Hawk lets out a snort of sorts, he is just as skeptical as she is.

Elizabeth says nothing else, only stares at him with an anxious intensity. His eyes are a vibrant green, like the summer grass she so fondly looks down upon from her window. Even in the dark she can see them glow.

"I'll just return down, sleep on the dirt. It's pretty cold, but, y'know. I'll manage." he says nonchalantly as he makes his way towards the window.

Elizabeth gulps, a newfound sense of guilt spreading.

"Elizabeth," Hawk nudges her, sensing her empathy. "Stay strong."

"Thank you very much for your ephemeral hospitality, I'll be off now," he gives them a little bow as he climbs to the window, skirting around the tipped over potted plant politely.

Elizabeth weakens. "I... _wait…_ "

The man stops and turns towards her, a curious satisfactory playing across his lips.

"Yes?" He asks her playfully. He has known it all along she would cave to him.

"I...I mean, I guess you can stay. Just for tonight, I mean." she tries to sound authoritative as she stands back to her feet, tea tray protectively shielding her chest.

"Elizabeth, I don't think that's such a good idea," Hawk whispers to her hurriedly.

"Well, I can't just _leave_ him…"

"I can hear both of you guys, you know. Nice talking pig, by the way." The man says casually, slouching low to examine both of the residents of the tower.

"Um...right. You can stay on the couch down here...but don't touch anything." Elizabeth clarifies, not wanting any more broken lamps and plants that she would undoubtedly have to explain away to Vivian.

"You got it." He agrees, slowly making his way towards the couch. Elizabeth is sure to put herself on guard when he draws close. He notices.

"You don't have to be scared around me, I'm not gonna hurt you," he says to her, eyebrow raised, finding her skittishness comical.

"Well...you're from the outside, aren't you?" She asks him, letting curiosity ebb into her voice like ink from a pen. He nods.

"Yeah...don't tell me you've never been down there," he jokes, before his smile fades. Her anxious look provides him with enough answers.

"So you're like...a prisoner up here?" He inquires. Elizabeth quickly shakes her head.

"No...no! Definitely not. Mother says the surface is a dangerous and cruel place that would exploit me to no end…" Elizabeth trails off, like she is expecting the man to confirm her suspicions. Instead, he looks at her quizzically.

"That's...interesting. And, if it makes you feel any better, I'm from the surface, and I like to think of myself as not dangerous and cruel. But, that's just my opinion." He holds his hands in the air, so signify impartiality.

Elizabeth studies him before responding. "I mean...you don't _seem_ evil…"

"That's the spirit," he encourages, before walking towards her non-threateningly. "Down on the surface, we have customary greetings, yeah?"

Elizabeth cocks her head to the side out of pure curiosity.

"Let me show you," he slowly reached out and grabbed her chest before giving it a good squeeze. She is bewildered by this action, but doesn't stop him.

"See? Not evil." He pulls away, grinning, like they had just shared a secret joke. Hawk makes a grumbling sound, and Elizabeth is enticed.

"Really? Do all surface dwellers do that…?" she pries him for answers, desperate for information about the foreign customs.

"Sure! We do _lots_ of stuff down on the surface, and if you want me to teach you anything else, I can-"

"We should probably get to sleep!" Hawk interrupts rudely. Elizabeth snaps her gaze down to her companion, a crestfallen look on her face. This very well might be her only chance to learn about the surface.

"Mm, maybe in a little bit, I want to get to know…" she trails off realizing she doesn't know the intruders name. He smiles.

"Meliodas. That's my name."

She smiles gratefully. "...Meliodas. And I'm Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth…" he tests her name out thoroughly. "Great. Also, since you _aren't_ a surface dweller, it's typical for you to refer to me as Meliodas-sama. You know, it's customary. i don't make the rules."

Elizabeth nods and Hawk snorts.

"Right! Um, I want to stay up and talk to Meliodas-sama-"

"Time for bed Elizabeth! You can talk to _Meliodas_ in the morning." Hawk insists, pushing Elizabeth up the steps.

"Ooh, Hawk, you should call him _Meliodas-sama._ You don't want to be disrespectful…" Elizabeth puts out in concern. Hawk lets out a breath of air.

"...Nevermind that. Let's just get some rest." he pushes further.

"...I suppose so. Um...goodnight Meliodas-sama, I hope we can talk more tomorrow." She tells him eagerly. He bows his head in the slightest.

"I'll look forward to it." he glances at her pointedly and she feels a warm blush flood to her cheeks before she turns around abruptly.

By the time she reaches her room again, she shuts the door quickly and falls onto her bed, filled with excitement and wonder. She is brimming with questions and ideas - how could she fit them all in one day?

"Isn't he - isn't he amazing?" she gushes to Hawk, clutching her pillow to her chest tightly to keep herself from squealing.

"I think he's full of shit." Hawk replies honestly. Elizabeth only shakes her head.

"He's from the surface! And he's _not_ evil! He doesn't want to hurt me, or use me...Vivian was wrong." Elizabeth deducts, pushing her hair out of her eyes and blinking. "She was _wrong._ The surface isn't bad at all...Hawk. I want to go there. I want to go to the surface and I want Meliodas-sama to take me."

Hawk looks at her critically. "...Do you want my honest opinion?"

"Yes."

"I think that's a terrible idea."

" _Hawk_ ," Elizabeth protests, "this is the only chance I'm _ever_ going to get. Just one day, just _one day_. Vivian doesn't have to know."

"Elizabeth, you barely know him. And I don't trust him, I think he's messing with you." Hawk snorts indignantly.

"You're being silly. This is my only chance. I have to take it." Elizabeth concludes, before laying down on her bedspread tiredly.

"Elizabeth, you're too trusting. this is going to backfire."

"Nonsense." Elizabeth murmurs drowsily. "You'll see. this is the best...plan...ever…"

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Meliodas blinks while laying down on the couch, staring at the expanse of the tower's ceiling. The stolen crown hangs neatly off of his arm as he twirls it around, treating it like a yo-yo rather than a priceless artifact.

"Elizabeth." He says her name quietly, enjoying the feel. She would be easy enough to dupe. Another girl, another day. And in no time he'd get her to spill the secrets of the tower right into his lap, and he'll be twice as rich as he was when he first arrived.

People don't lock things in a tower for no reason. And he is going to find out what this tower is so desperately trying to keep hidden from the outside world - even if he has to pry it from Elizabeth's tiny, frail hands.

She was right about one thing - the surface world _is_ a dangerous place, and he is just the dangerous man to show her that.

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 **meliodas is such a scumbag i love him**

 **dw tho. we all know if anybody can soften him up, its eliza.**

 **thank you for all your reviews and support and i apologize for its latecoming! pls review to save my ded soul**


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